Discussions By Condition: I cannot get a diagnosis.

Cant lose weight 14 months after giving birth

Hello there I have a problem and its really bugging me. I've been reading about hypothyroidism and I have alot of the sypmptoms but I am open to any other suggestions that anyone may have. Ok here we go... before I was pregnant I weighed 144 pounds. Then I founf out I was pregnant. I started gaining weight moderately and my doctor liked how much weight I was gaining. Suddenly about a few weeks befor giving birth to my beautiful daughter I had a HUGE amount of weight gain. Now let me tell you a little bit about my pregnancy. I had no cravings (everyone thought I was weird). It was very hard for me to eat because my stomach would hurt. I didn't change my diet and excersize habbits to gain weight. When I had gained the weight and went to the OBGYN she said it was a sudden "growth spurt" the baby was having. I didn't really think anything of it. I thought It was normal. The 1st and 2nd month of my daughters life I was Severely chronically constipated. I would say only 2 bowl movements per month and extreme hemmoroides. All the doctor said was take Dulcolax. It didn't help one bit even with me drinking the 92 ounces of water. Well finally I was shopping in a store for some daily vitamins and ran into fiber therapy. It really helps alot but I still don't have as many bowel movements as Im supposed to. Well anyway to the symptooms I've been having. I now weight 180. I've been trying to lose the weight through diet and excersize but my body wont let me. I also have a smelling disorder which has been bothering me lately because its caused me to eat fewer calories in a day. :( Well I have been having constant headaches (24/7), I faint alot, Im really tired after I eat, I cant go to sleep at night without taking a sleeping pill, My hands and feet are always swollen, my feet lock up when I stand on my tiptoes, my right leg has cramp in the bag, my period is heavier and last longer, I have shortness of breathe, my eyesight has gotten fuzzy (cannot see things from afar), Dizzines and lightheadedness, not really hungry, and last but not least my ear flutters (tinnitus maybe)

PS Im definitly going to get a test for hypothyroidism because I've heard it can cause infertility if you go without medication or undiagnosed. Im just looking for any other suggestions of what it might be.

3 Replies:

I'm sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I'm glad you are getting your thyroid checked. I'm writing to warn you that if your thyroid hormone levels turn out to be "normal", that does not mean that your thyroid is neccesarily okay. Please ask your doctors to check your thyroid ANTIBODY levels in addition to the hormone levels. You see, I walked around for almost a decade with constipation, thinning hair (half of it is gone now!), low appetite, heavier and more frequent periods, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, compression neuropathies, dry skin, etc etc- all symptoms of hypothyroidism- but my TSH and other thyroid hormones were always normal, and so I was told that my thyroid was "okay".At the same time, I developed a mysterious neurological condition. I grew very fatigued, had problems with balance and coordination, profound migraines, and some subtle focal deficits that came and went that prompted multiple work-ups for MS and other neuro diseases. I also had brisk reflexes and other signs on exam (low thyroid actually causes delayed reflex relaxation).As it turns out, my 8th neurologist finally checked my thyroid ANTIBODY levels and diagnosed me with Hashimoto's Encephalopathy- a rare complication of Hashimotos Autoimmune Thyroiditis. A subsequent ultrasound of my thyroid gland revealed that it was full of tiny nodules from the autoimmune attack by the antibodies produced by my own white blood cells.While it does not sound like you neccesarily have HE (which is treatable with steroids), I wanted to share my story with you because I'm pretty sure that my hyporthyroid symptoms were indeed from my thyroid autoimmune disease, which you may have. Doctors will tell you that if your TSH is normal then your symptoms can't possibly be from your thyroid but I just can't believe that my hypothyroid symptoms are all just a coincidence. I mean, I used to have beautiful, thick hair and drove all over the city looking for special hair clips large enough to hold it all- and now it's half gone! So, please seriously consider asking that your antibodies be checked along with your hormone levels. The antibodies to check are the ones against the thyroperoxidase and thyroglobulin proteins. It is quite common to develop thyroiditis post-partum, so it may be worth looking into. Be forewarned that doctors are trained to check the antibodies only when the hormone levels come back abnormal or the patient comes in with a goiter. But I went undiagnosed for almost a decade because of this and was quite upset when I learned that my thyroid gland was being destroyed the whole time.Good Luck in obtaining a diagnosis- whatever it turns out to be (hopefully they will look into other possiblities too).

HI, I ran across your post last night and I swear, I felt like I had been writing it. I had a baby 14 months ago and like you, I had no cravings, ate healthy, went to the gym, etc. then in my last couple weeks I shot up in weight. Now I weigh 180 and can't loose it. I feel like I'm the one at the gym working my butt off and see no results. I'm so upset and depressed about it... I'm dizzy, I can't sleep, I'm always tired, etc... I got my thyroid checked and they said the levels were normal, end of story... :( Did you get anywhere? How are you doing now? Hello there I have a problem and its really bugging me. I've been reading about hypothyroidism and I have alot of the sypmptoms but I am open to any other suggestions that anyone may have. Ok here we go... before I was pregnant I weighed 144 pounds. Then I founf out I was pregnant. I started gaining weight moderately and my doctor liked how much weight I was gaining. Suddenly about a few weeks befor giving birth to my beautiful daughter I had a HUGE amount of weight gain. Now let me tell you a little bit about my pregnancy. I had no cravings (everyone thought I was weird). It was very hard for me to eat because my stomach would hurt. I didn't change my diet and excersize habbits to gain weight. When I had gained the weight and went to the OBGYN she said it was a sudden "growth spurt" the baby was having. I didn't really think anything of it. I thought It was normal. The 1st and 2nd month of my daughters life I was Severely chronically constipated. I would say only 2 bowl movements per month and extreme hemmoroides. All the doctor said was take Dulcolax. It didn't help one bit even with me drinking the 92 ounces of water. Well finally I was shopping in a store for some daily vitamins and ran into fiber therapy. It really helps alot but I still don't have as many bowel movements as Im supposed to. Well anyway to the symptooms I've been having. I now weight 180. I've been trying to lose the weight through diet and excersize but my body wont let me. I also have a smelling disorder which has been bothering me lately because its caused me to eat fewer calories in a day. :( Well I have been having constant headaches (24/7), I faint alot, Im really tired after I eat, I cant go to sleep at night without taking a sleeping pill, My hands and feet are always swollen, my feet lock up when I stand on my tiptoes, my right leg has cramp in the bag, my period is heavier and last longer, I have shortness of breathe, my eyesight has gotten fuzzy (cannot see things from afar), Dizzines and lightheadedness, not really hungry, and last but not least my ear flutters (tinnitus maybe) PS Im definitly going to get a test for hypothyroidism because I've heard it can cause infertility if you go without medication or undiagnosed. Im just looking for any other suggestions of what it might be.